Shoe repair last



De@ 2, 1941 E. B. ANDERSON 2,254,734

SHOE REPAIRLAST Filed March 29, 1940 Patented Dec. 2, 1941 UNHTED`STA.fritz-is laminar fesFfFlscE JSHOE'TREBAIR IJ'ASTEdwardlB."A1iderson, Chicago, Ill.

"ApplicatnlMflch'vf, 1940,2Se1iallN0'. #326,57 5

The present invention relates to -shoef repair lasts -a'nd'hasffor itsprimary object toprovide a -last'which'has a rigid vamptting poi-tienito which is'secured'a universally adjustable v*rear portion.

I-Ieretofore many types of shoe repair lasts rhave been constructed, butnone of theml has been To'fa construction to completelyvv fulfill'y all'off the requirements of la practical repair last.

`It is a I'knownffacu `that When shoes requirel repair 'orneed new soles-to be attachedfthereto, theshoes in that condition may have becomevtvvisted or Wa'rpeddueto the peculiarity 'f the gaitoftheperson`wearing them,` inasmuch as the foot member of a human individual isVcomprised `of -afseries ofvuniversal joints such as the ball 'f thefoot, the' arch, the ankle,` the knee,A as 'Wll 'as the hip joint. Inactual '-Walking, different persons subject the joints 'of'the'foot 'and1leg '-to different articulation, and hence Vthe resulting Wear on thesole and'heal Vportion of a-shoeffas Wellas 'the original shape of the`shoe are"`dis --torted in accordance With the function ofthe combinedaction of the'said universal joints-comprising the `foot and'legmember-'ofa'human individual. e

Because of this fact, when-shoes'lare-'brought in for repair, afterhaving beenlworn, 'they have become vacclimated 'to the particular-ga`itof a wearer. At the present time,l theshoefislmounted on repairlasts which are made to-'conform' `vvith the design, "shape, v`and inaccordance "With tithe standard of new lshoe manufacture.

"Inasmuch, asa-shoe, after havin'g'heenwom, will assume a distortedshapeinf-accordancey with the explanation heretofore givenfthatshoe if placedupon a repair last -Which'ismadefinconformity to new shoe construction,will tend f' to straighten the shoe when the #shoe-and last-are placedin the press.

The new sole isthuscemente'd 'toitheworn shoe, which lwhen taken out' ofthernaohinewill 'tend to assume' its 'distorted shape, 'caused'by thewear, which in turn will tendLto loosen 'ordetach the sole from theuppe'rfportion' of the shoe.

After considerable experimenting, I ioun'd that a shoe repair last inorder tobe 'iiicientfor -the purpose01?..repairing `old and IWorn shoes,must necessarily -be constructed-.sol as to Y. accli- -mate itself tothe shape of -the zd-istortedfshee. With this view in mind,.:Ihave'provideda flex-- ible 'shank engaging means Which=isfadaptable tovarious pitches between thesh'oe'sole :and :the

heelfseauand at the same timefalsoiadaptiitself toanylateralwarpagefwhiclr may have bee'niproduced in the shoe thru Wear.

Another object of my invention is to provide an -eiective locking'means,`for locking the universally exible shank means in iixed position,

vil() once it llha's assumed sa lpos'itionlcngruent withthedistortdformofthe;shoetope'repaired.

f'Another-obgecti of-'myfinventionf-'is' tozffprovidefa shoe-*repairlast of @the character to'lbe'described, which isIsimplefin-lconstruction, practical' in use, cient in operationfandeconomical/to produce in quantity production or manufacture.

'OtherA objects, features, fand' advantages inlay become 'apparentLfromthe `ensuing description and the accompanying I'dr'awing in *which likesymbols Will be `Vuseolftoi designate 'like yfpa'rts 'and in which;

Fig. I1 rep'resents'alongitudinal cross -sectional vieWffo'f myinventioninsertedin a shoe,thefl'a's`t andi-shoe' placed in astandardshoe'prss--us'edlfor this-purpose.

Fig. 2 is a transversal cross-sectional-viewfon thev line 2-"2'ofFi'g-urerl.

@Referring tothe drawing, espe'ciallyligure- 1, the' 'numeral-i4designates a 'shoe "such-asf isto be repaired -l`with frny'f type ofirepair last. i L'Ihef'shoe comprising generally an upperportion'desi'gnatd 1,-a sole portion 5,--an"d"a heel p'ortion. inventioncomprisesth'e:elementsfgenerally designated', VLI 2, I`8,"and-' I9.

The f member ``g'en'erally V"designated 58 is f-"com- 'priseclY of ashoef-vamptting 'portionii'fvvhich iis shaped approximately-as shownhaving an upper square -`sectional portion I5 czonnecte'd to i'a't'opledge member `lII). 4'The member I0 is provided With'a'liole y'IIv'preferably of square isection in *order to receive vthe*adjustableclamping rod f I2 which is la'.lso=r'fa squarefsection and is providedwith va hemispherical tip portionZeS, anda V slotted groove 14.The'member I2 floats Within the square 'cavity II tand' when itfisidesiredrto xthesame in aj certain position longitudinally, the' thumb"screw' |13, which is secured to the' ledge portion I'Il, is `caused tomove v'inwardly so that its conical'ti'p.' portionwill clamp' the memberI2 rigi'dlyineplace at any'.point'along the'groovev I4, thefpur-pose Yofthis .operation will be "hereinafter described. I y

TheAV member 8*:has-.at itslowerfportion 9 a spherical button portion 2I, and a spherical recess portion 20, the sole member I9 is providedwith a recessed fportion to t the button portion f2 I and a fbuttonportion to -t Withinthezrecess portion 'i' 2S.' Tliepurpose of the.portions F20 fand -2I'an'dthecomplementary button and recesslportionsenf/'the -Tnember f-I9 l-is 'ffor the purposef allocating I`the"members--`9 Which 'are 'madef'of varied' dimensionsto :fit 4the-variedrszesfo'fshoes, and are interchangeable With"the-adaptery meinber designated 8,so that the member'` 3 may'be attahedtoany one'of Vaseries-'oi 'membersI9 which are provided for dierent lengths of shoes with diierent shapedvamps or different widths of soles.

The member I9 has secured thereto the important element of my invention22, which is made of a flexible and resilient material such as springsteel, or any other suitable material, for fuliilling the requirementscalled for by my invention.

The member 22 is provided with a bent portion 24 and a further bentportion 25, the portion 25 being suitably countersunk in order toreceive the screw 26, whereas the member 8 being suitably tapped inorder to receive the screw member 26 by virtue of which the member 22 issecured to the adapter member 8.

In other words, the important element comprising my invention the member22, is permanently attached to the adapter member whereas the members I9are the interchangeable members which are used in conjunction with theadapter member 8 in order to speciiically fit a certain type of shoe.

Usually shoes are worn down at the heel and this causes a certaindistortion to take -place in the relationship of the aXis of the heelwith respect to the plane of the sole of the shoe.

The adapter arrangement when assembled to a suitable sole plate I9 isassembled within the shoe, and the shoe is then placed within the repairmachine which comprises a table member 29 mounted on a standard 3U orany suitable mounting means.

The table 29 is provided with a flange portion 3| and a recess 32 whichis adapted to receive a resilient member, such as a rubber cushiondesignated 33, and which is shaped as indicated at 34, the rear portionbeing built up on an incline in order to t approximately theconfiguration of the arch portion of a shoe.

The cushion is of a suitable dimension and shape so as to allow the heelmember 5 to clear that portion of the machine which holds the member 33.When the hand wheel I8 is rotated the screw portion I'I which is securedto a tapped hole in the arch I 6 of the machine, is brought to bear onthe surface ID of the adapter member which in turn compresses theflexible and resilient rubber member 33, thus bringing an equalized anduniform pressure to all parts of the sole 5 which is being cemented tothe upper 1.

The member 22 is provided with an arcuate recess portion 2l and thearcuate sides 28. It can be seen that the rear recessed portion 21 ofthe member 22 is so shaped as to accommodate a wide range of sizes ofshoes. It may be required to have one or more members 22 in order toaccommodate the wide variety of sizes of shoes, however, if that shouldbe necessary, the members 22 may be easily interchanged and attached tothe adapter by removing the screw member 26 and replacing it with amember 22 of more suitable length and coniiguration to adapt itself tothe speciiic range of shoe sizes to meet the requirements.

The shoe soles are usually cemented to the uppers and after the cementor composition is applied to the sole and to the upper and they aresecured in position, it requires that they be held under pressure in amachine or clamping press such as shown suggestively in the drawing, andcomprised of the table member 29, the arch portion I6, and the screwpressure handle member When the suitable sole plate member I 9 issecured or positioned with respect to the adapter 8, the assembly isiitted into the vamp of the shoe. The assembly of the shoe 4, theadapter 8, sole plate I9, and the flexible member 22 are then positionedon the resilient pad 33 in the machine.

The member 22 is thus permitted to equalize itself in position andassume the same shape as the rear portion of the inner sole. Thehemispherical portion 23 of the rod I2 is then caused to contact thesole member 22 and locked in place by the screw I3 abutting the grooveI4. The member I8 is rotated so as to exert enough pressure until theresilient pad 33 more or less conforms to the configuration and shape ofthe sole portion.

The member 22 not being under any particular strain while this operationis taking place remains in the same position in which it had been priorto the assembly or cementing of the sole.

One often hears that some people purchasing shoes have to break them in,that is they have to wear them for some time before the shoes assume amore suitable twist or distortion which more or less acclimates them tothe particular step or gait of the wearer, and hence with present repairmachines the tendency-is to bring those shoes from the distortedposition back to the original position that they were in when newlypurchased, which requires additional breaking in by the wearer, andduring the process of such breaking in the sole will become loosenedfrom the upper portion.

If my invention is used, the shoe remains in the form to fit theparticular gait of the wearer, and thus is provided a more durablerepair to a shoe which thru wear has assumed a certain particular orpeculiar distortion.

I believe I have described rather succinctly the nature and importanceof my invention and the improvement I have produced in the art of shoerepair and construction.

Altho, I have shown a preferred form of putting my invention topractice, I reserve the right to any and all modiiications,improvements, and alterations which come within the scope and spirit ofmy invention and the purview of the foregoing description; my inventionbeing limited only by the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shoe repair last, an adapter member provided with universallyequalizing shank means comprising, a shank member made of flexiblematerial secured to said adapter member and provided with a formedportion in close proximity to the end which is secured to the saidadapter member, and shank securing means adapted to hold rigidly thesaid shank means in a xed position.

2. In a shoe repair last, an adapter member provided with universallyequalizing shank means comprising, a shank member made of flexiblematerial secured to the said adapter member and provided with a formedportion in close proximity to the end which is secured to the saidadapter member, and shank securing means comprising a rod memberslidably attached to the said adapter member and rod enaging meanssecured to the said adapter mem- EDWARD B. ANDERSON.

